When female characters were snubbed in Assassin’s Creed Unity‘s co-op mode, many fans of the series were upset. It’s easy to see the inclusion of the female Evie Frye, one of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s two playable characters, as a reaction to that backlash, but developers have now clarified that the playable female has been an important part of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate since the game started development more than two years ago.

“What I?d say is that they?ve both been part of the experience from the very beginning. Cynics will be cynics, and it?s unfortunate, but we?ve been so focused on [building] this game the way we want with those two characters. It?s not done to pay lip-service, it?s done to build a great game,” Assassin?s Creed Syndicate?s creative director, Marc-Alexis Côté, said in an interview with Gamespot.

Côté went on to explain that Evie’s genesis came as the team sought ways to tell a story that felt fresh in a franchise that had already tackled so many lone heroes. “That?s where we came up with the idea of having two protagonists, which evolved into having twin protagonists, and a brother/sister relationship that we?ve never explored. That started two and a half years ago.”

Mission design director on Syndicate, Hugo Giard, also supports the idea that Evie has been an integral part of the game since earlier development. “Seriously, if we had changed our vision last year when the controversy broke, Evie would feel completely shoe-horned, you would be able to sense it. But because we planned it for so long, everything about her flows perfectly in the story with Jacob. You would know if it didn?t.”

Assassin?s Creed Syndicate is set for release on October 23 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a Q4 2015 date for PC.

About Spencer Campbell

When female characters were snubbed in Assassin’s Creed Unity‘s co-op mode, many fans of the series were upset. It’s easy to see the inclusion of the female Evie Frye, one of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s two playable characters, as a reaction to that backlash, but developers have now clarified that the playable female has been an important part of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate since the game started development more than two years ago.

“What I?d say is that they?ve both been part of the experience from the very beginning. Cynics will be cynics, and it?s unfortunate, but we?ve been so focused on [building] this game the way we want with those two characters. It?s not done to pay lip-service, it?s done to build a great game,” Assassin?s Creed Syndicate?s creative director, Marc-Alexis Côté, said in an interview with Gamespot.

Côté went on to explain that Evie’s genesis came as the team sought ways to tell a story that felt fresh in a franchise that had already tackled so many lone heroes. “That?s where we came up with the idea of having two protagonists, which evolved into having twin protagonists, and a brother/sister relationship that we?ve never explored. That started two and a half years ago.”

Mission design director on Syndicate, Hugo Giard, also supports the idea that Evie has been an integral part of the game since earlier development. “Seriously, if we had changed our vision last year when the controversy broke, Evie would feel completely shoe-horned, you would be able to sense it. But because we planned it for so long, everything about her flows perfectly in the story with Jacob. You would know if it didn?t.”

Assassin?s Creed Syndicate is set for release on October 23 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a Q4 2015 date for PC.